Welcome to our Book Discussion Group Blog! Here you find all our news and write-ups of our book discussions!
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Round Rock New Neighbors is a social organization of women welcoming women in the Round Rock area since 1978. Both "new" and "old" neighbors are welcome. For more information: rrnewneighbors.org [Barnes & Noble requires that RRNN's book club be open to the public, so you do not need to be an RRNN member to attend book club, and both men and women are welcome and do attend. ]

Literary Events

Click here to see the trailer for Stephen Spielberg's Ready Player One, currently in theaters. Look for the DeLorean. (Hint-it's moving quickly and is black and you're more likely to find it if you watch one of the explanatory videos that elaborates on the trailer.) If you want to, stay on the YouTube page and see lots more about Ready Player One. After all, it's a movie about the native online generation.

Great and uplifting film!

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Barnes & Noble La Frontera hosts the first meeting of a new nationwide Barnes & Noble Book Club May 2nd, 6:00 - 7:00 PM at Barnes & Noble La Frontera. The book is Female Persuasion, by Meg Wolitzer. The book is available at Barnes & Noble La Frontera.

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HILL COUNTRY AUTHORS SERIES

The Friends of the Georgetown Public Library will host their 36th author event on Tuesday May 15, 2018 at 2 PM, in the Community Rooms of the library located at 402 W. 8th St.

The featured speaker will be local author, MJ Hegar, who published ‘Shoot Like a Girl’ in 2017.

In Shoot like A Girl, MJ takes the reader on a dramatic journey through her military career: an inspiring, humorous, and thrilling true story of a brave, high-spirited, and unforgettable woman who has spent much of her life ready to sacrifice everything for her country, her fellow man, and her sense of justice.

Tickets are $15 in advance.They’re available at the Second-Hand Prose bookstore on the second floor of the library, and online at www.folgeorgetown.org/calendar. Tickets are available at the door for $18.A dessert and beverage from the Red Poppy Coffee Company is included.

The event begins at 2 PM; doors open at 130 PM.Proceeds are used to fund unbudgeted items and other ongoing library projects.

Monday, May 23, 2016

Among 13 of us at the discussion, 11 had read and
liked The One and Only Ivan, by Katherine Applegate andPatricia Castelao.

Lydia nominated the book but was out of town on
the day of our meeting, so she sent her discussion notes to Pam, who led the
discussion, asking questions from Lydia's notes and adding some of her own. The
discussion moved from specific details about the story to broader issues about
animal conservation, animal rights, zoos, and habitat scarcity.

The first question Lydia listed was, "Why
did the Big Top Mall sign show Ivan as angry and fierce?" Answers: I (Claudia) was taking notes on my new tablet
computer, so I figured that while everything was working, I would contribute an
answer; so I said that the fierce gorilla was a stereotype that travelers would
want to see. Jay said the sign was to attract attention. Pam said that the sign
depicted the opposite of what travelers would see at most roadside zoos, which
is usually a petting zoo with opportunities for family photos among the
friendly animals.

Another question was, "What are the contradictions in Mack's
character?" Mack, the owner of the mall zoo, seemed to care about the
animals, having literally traded his marriage for keeping the young Ivan at his
home; but he did not call a veterinarian quickly enough to cure Stella from an
obvious infection, and he was cruel to the new baby elephant, Ruby. Angie noticed
a contradiction when Mack showed anger about Ruby refusing to perform, even
though Mack had been patient with the animals in the past. Carol said that Mack
was under pressure to bring in more customers and more money, which was why he was impatient with Ruby's refusing to learn tricks
quickly. Patty suggested that Stella's death because of Mack's neglecting to
call a vet might have been a mistake Mack made, but that it was indirectly caused
by Mack's financial difficulty. Mack's likely regret and frustration at losing
Stella might have contributed to his displacing anger toward Ruby, though there
was also the potential contradiction of Mack reasoning that Ruby would eat less
than Stella and thus cost less to keep alive.

The discussion moved away from the details of the story toward
roadside zoos. According to Pam's research, there
are currently 3000 roadside zoos in 43 states. Local Austin-area animals include a wildlife
preserve Pam mentioned in Pflugerville, which she thinks could be raising the
animals to send to places that have customers pay to hunt the animals. Frank reminded
us of Coxville Zoo in North Austin (off Lamar) (1939-1969) which Pam had
visited quite a few times as a child. Frank said it was a roadside zoo,
apparently as part of a gas station. While Pam had considered this a zoo, Frank
recalled it as a nasty place with animals crammed in small cages. Video of Abandoned Coxville
Zoo Frank also mentioned a roadside zoo off of 2222 in Austin that had a
lot of snakes. He said there was an old gas station on North Lamar that was
seedy and creepy and had a roadside monkey house.

The evolution of zoos has moved alongside the
evolution of wildlife preserves. For many years, good zoos have been creating
habitat to mimic the natural habitat of the animals. When I was in college, I
had the opportunity to work one summer with 6 other young women from my college
as zoo guides at the Bronx Zoo. We had an entire week of training, learning how
the animals were cared for and how the enclosures and outdoor habitats were created
and maintained to serve the animals. After seeing these beginnings in the
rethinking and redesign of zoos, I noticed that the Central Park Zoo in New
York City, just a few subway stops away from the Bronx Zoo, was mostly made of
small cages with hard surfaces and dirty water. The Central Park Zoo was renovated about 10 years later. It's quite lovely now.

Laura grew up
near the Ringling Brothers Barnum & Bailey Circus's winter home in Florida.
Last November, the big top came down. This was partly because of publicity and
complaints about treatment of the animals. The circus had to quit having
elephant acts, their main attraction. Laura said she never thought the animals
were treated cruelly. She suggests that we can help animals in small ways by
supporting zoos and donating useful items to local animal shelters.

You can watch
a video about the current home of the Ringling circus animals: http://www.cnn.com/2016/05/01/us/ringling-bros-elephants-last-show/If you continue
watching, the next video is about Hanako, an elephant who is 69 years old;
although life expectancy of zoo
elephants is 40 years. She is a killer elephant so has to be alone. The next
video after that is about some acreage in Cambodia for endangered species.
There is plenty of information about animals on the Internet!

Patty gave us
a good report about the San Diego Zoo, which teaches children and families and
everyone about animals, including some extinct or endangered ones and allows many
children to participate in field trips. One of the zoo's purposes is to bring
more awareness about animals to the public. Patty feels that the animals in good
zoo environments are protected better then they would be in the wild.

From Lydia's
notes: Animal welfare has been in the news recently. Just a few weeks ago, Ringling Bros and
Barnum & Bailey circuses announced they were retiring their elephants. This is after legislation outlawing bullhooks
and animal performances. SeaWorld
Orlando’s revenues were damaged by a 2013 documentary called “Blackfish”,
calling for the end of keeping orcas in captivity. Last week they announced the retirement of
their performing killer whales. On a
lighter note, Inky the Octopus, formerly of New Zealand’s National Aquarium
became a global celebrity via the Internet when he slipped through a gap at the
of his enclosure, squeezed into a small drain and made his way back into the
Pacific Ocean.

The gorilla in
the story we read, Ivan, was real. His story was adapted for young people to
read, but the book wasn't far from the truth. Ivan did have trouble getting
used to his new home among gorillas, but think about how his life had been for
27 years and whether he was actually better off in his new social habitat at
the Atlanta Zoo. He lived there until dying at the age of 50 in approximately
2011. See more information and photos and video of Ivan here: Ivan at Atlanta Zoo

Poaching is a big killer of animals. When our
Book Club discussed In the Heart of the
Sea, we talked about the killing of whales for their oil and ambergris. We
learned that whale killing continues but because of publicity, a lot of people have lost interest in killing whales, especially for food.
Poaching of elephants and rhinos in Africa is a problem. Many animals are
killed for their tusks or teeth or horns. Recently, in the news, President Uhuru
Kenyatta of Kenya set fire to 105 tons of elephant ivory that has been seized
from poachers, to show how important it is to stop poaching and to make a statement against trade in ivory. This president burned $100 million worth of animal
parts that had been poached. For the story, click here: http://www.dw.com/en/kenya-lights-worlds-biggest-ivory-bonfire/a-19226823

From Lydia's
notes: According to the World Wildlife Fund, there are fewer than 900 gorillas
left in the wild. 35,000 elephants were
killed last year, up from 25,000 the previous year. Lions have lost 85% of their habitat, so now
live closer to humans, prey on their livestock and are killed by farmers. At current poaching rates, elephants, rhinos
and gorillas may be gone within our lifetime. It seems zoos are the only hope to save endangered species. Money, of
course, is the root of the poaching and also plays a large part in
conservation. A visit to Austin Zoo
costs $11 for an adult and $8 for a child. Atlanta Zoo, where Ivan spent the rest of his days, charges an adult $25
and a child $17. And San Diego Zoo costs
an adult $50 and a child $40 – they have pandas. The Austin Zoo is rescue zoo,
containing only rescued animals.

The spread of humans has decimated the animal
habitat all over the world. The consensus at our meeting
was that reputable zoos and preserves are many animals' only chance of
long-term survival except, as Dennis pointed out, the complete annihilation of
humans.

Movie mentioned
at the meeting: Madagascar. Another cartoon about animal abuse: Tarzan.

1 comment:

Regarding "Coxville Zoo", the internet says it was located at the intersection of Yeager** Lane and Lamar on the south west corner of the intersection along Lamar, although I thought it was further north than that. As Claudia said, it closed in 1969 but was there many decades. The seedy place Frank recalled with a gas station and roadside monkeys in cages - WAS Coxville Zoo. Growing up in Pflugerville, we drove down Lamar MANY times (IH 35 in Austin didn't open until I was 9 years old). I recall Coxville Zoo fondly, although it was the only "zoo" I had been to so nothing to compare to; I was probably just excited to see animals in the flesh that I had only seen in books. **In the old days what is now Yager Lane was YEAGER Lane, much like Parmer and Palmer, but as a local, don't get me started....

Regarding the exotic animal acreage I mentioned Northeast of Pflugerville, it is at the SW corner of the intersection of Rowe and Hodde Lanes. The last few times I drove by it I did not see any animals. Previously it held some exotic animals. I googled quite a bit but didn't find anything out about it.

What is the difference between a zoo/aquarium that is USDA regulated and one that is not? One of the main differences is that Zoos regulated by the USDA do not allow members of the public to handle or feed infant exotic cats like tigers, lions, cheetahs, jaguars or leopards; conversely roadside zoos ENCOURAGE and PROMOTE the public's handling of any and all animals (photo ops).

Finally, LYDIA if you are reading this, the big question that everyone seemed to want to hear from you on was why did you pick this particular children's book to nominate. Don't get me wrong, as Claudia said, 100% of those of us who read it, liked it, but we were curious why it was one of the 3 you nominated.Pam

Books Read

May is Comedy Month!

On May 21st, we will discuss The Sex Lives of Cannibals: Adrift in the Equatorial Pacific, by Maarten Troost. This book is categorized as "ethnography" or "geography," so it is essentially true. It is an uncommon rendition of reality in this South Sea Island, in contrast with typical advertisements for travel in the South Pacific. It has a reputation for causing laughter! See what you think!

Copies of the book are or soon will be available at Barnes & Noble La Frontera in the Fiction/Literature section, or maybe a travel/geography section (final answer to be published here later) under "Troost." If you want to check to be sure there is a copy on the shelf, you can call Barnes & Noble (512) 600-0088.

A History Mystery for June

June 18th, we'll discuss Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann. This is a history mystery. This true story is about the Osage Indians in the United States in the 1920s. Wealth happened and then murders happened. As much as is known about this is covered.

Copies will be available at Barnes & Noble La Frontera soon, in the history section under Moriarty.

Books Nominated Not Chosen

Just Mercy, by Brian Stevenson

Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in Northern Korea, by Barbara Demick

Books Mentioned at the Recent Meeting

WLT: A Radio Romance, by Garrison Keillor

The Bible: Old Testament

Small Great Things, by Jody Picoult

Uncle Tom's Cabin, by Harriet Beecher Stowe

Books Mentioned at Previous Meetings

Uncle Tom's Cabin, by Harriet Beecher Stowe

Small Great Things, by Jody Picoult

The Bible: Old Testament

WLT: A Radio Romance, by Garrison Keillor

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, by Jonathan Safran Foer

Lost City of the Monkey Gods, by Douglas Preston

The Case for God, by Karen Armstrong

The Underground Girls Of Kabul: The Hidden Lives of Afghan Girls Disguised as Boys, by Jenny Nordberg

Underground Girls of Kabul: In Search of a Hidden Resistance in Afghanistan, by Jenny Nordberg

Going Rogue, by Sarah Palin

Half Broke Horses, by Jeannette Walls

An Invisible Thread: The True Story of an 11-Year-Old Panhandler, a Busy Sales Executive, and an Unlikely Meeting With Destiny, by Laura Schroff and Alex Tresniowski

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, by Robert M. Pirsig (2nd time on this list)

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, author unknown

Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, by Annie Dillard

The Road to Wellville, by T.C. Boyle

Same Kind of Different as Me: A Modern-Day Slave, an International Art Dealer, and the Unlikely Woman Who Bound Them Together, by Ron Hall

It Can't Happen Here, by Sinclair Lewis

Delicious, by Ruth Reichl

The Sympathizer, by Viet Thanh Nguyen

Micro, by Michael Crichton

Supergods: What Masked Vigilantes, Miraculous Mutants, and a Sun God from Smallville Can Teach Us about Being Human, by Grant Morrison

Conan the Barbarian, by Robert E. Howard

Dereliction of Duty: Johnson, McNamara, the Joint Shiefs of Staff, and the Lies that Led to Vietnam, by H.R. McMaster